Language Planning

NATIONAL AND OFFICIAL LANGUAGES

By:

BUSRI

MERI VANCITO

MUHAMMAD SAUFI GINTING

 

 

 

 

 

APPLIED ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

POSTGRADUATE PROGRAM

THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN

ABSTRACT

The concept of official and national language is not a very common one and is mainly used in countries that are multi linguistic in nature. In such countries, there are sections of population speaking languages different from the one that has been adopted as the national language as it is spoken by a majority of the people. Different administrative units of the country use different languages that are called official languages of divisions while there is a single national language. There is always the confusion between the official language and the national language in the minds of those who are outsiders, and they are bewildered to see so many languages being used in the country. This paper attempts to highlight the features of official and national languages to differentiate between them.

Keywords:  National Language, Official Language

A. Introduction

Almost every nation speaks its own language. This seems straightforward: part of our identity as citizens. But the truth is more complex. In world terms, territorial multilingualism is much more common than monolingualism. In the great wave of nationalism which has swept over first Europe and then the rest of the world during the modern period, pre-existing and new states have been re-imagined as nations. Central to this process is the development and elaboration of a national standard language.

Every country of the world has a national language that reflects its collective identity to the world at large. Besides that, countries of the world are divided into regions called states or provinces where there may be people speaking an altogether different language.

           

B. Discussion

1. National Languages

            A national language in any given country is given prominence over other languages spoken inside the country by the people. In fact, the language getting the honor of national language is often one that is spoken by the majority of the population of the country. National language of a country is the one in which the government corresponds with international organizations such as United Nations (UN) and other countries.

The term national language is used differently in different countries. It's usually the main language, the language used in legislation and in political discourse at the national level. Other languages are often used, though in other situations. In dictionary.reference.com (2012) the definition of national languages is the language spoken and written by the majority of people in a country; also, the official language of a country, recognized and adopted by its government.

In en.wikipedia.org (2012) a national language is a language (or language variant, i.e. dialect) which has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy. The term is used variously. A national language may for instance represent the national identity of a nation or country. National language may alternatively be a designation given to one or more languages spoken as first languages in the territory of a country.

Brann (in en.wikipedia.org, 2012) with particular reference to Africa, suggests that there are "four quite distinctive meanings" for national language in a polity:

o      "Territorial language" (chthonolect, sometimes known as chtonolect) of a particular people

o      "Regional language" (choralect)

o      "Language-in-common or community language" (demolect) used throughout a country

o      "Central language" (politolect) used by government and perhaps having a symbolic value.

The last seems often to be given the title "official language."

2. Official Languages

The definition of official language in stats.oecd.org (2012) is a language that has legal status in a particular legally constituted political entity such as a State or part of a State, and that serves as a language of administration. Examples: Spanish in Chile; Italian and German in Alto Adige (Italy).

The definition official language in en.wikipedia.org (2012) is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a language (often indigenous) a legal status, even if that language is not widely spoken. For example, in New Zealand the Māori language has official status under the Māori Language Act 1987 even though it is spoken by less than five percent of the New Zealand population. Non-national or supra-national organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union may also have official languages.

Official language status is often connected with wider political issues of sovereignty, cultural nationalism, and the rights of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, including immigrant communities. For example, the campaign to make English the de jure official language of various states in the United States of America is often seen as a way of marginalizing non English-speaking minorities, particularly Hispanic and Latino Americans, while others see it as a unifying force among numerous immigrant groups. In the Republic of Ireland the decision to make the Irish language an official language was part of a wider program of cultural revitalization, de-anglicisation and Gaelic nationalism following centuries of English rule in Ireland. Despite its status as an official language, Irish has been reduced to a minority language in Ireland as a result of English rule, as is the case in North and South America where various indigenous languages have been replaced by that of the colonists. Various indigenous rights movements have sought greater recognition of their languages, often through official language status.

3. The Distinction between a National Language and an Official Language

The distinction between a national language and an official language is made clear by Fasold (in criticism.com, 2011): Official languages are in place primarily for nationalist reasons, those concerned with the day to day practical tasks of governing. The nationalist function is concerned with nationalist motivations, the unifying and separatist functions, the link with the glorious past, and authenticity.

Fasold goes on to propose that a nationalist function requires six sociolinguistic attributes:

(1)   The language is a symbol of national unity for many people.

(2)   It is widely used for some everyday, unofficial purposes, but not necessarily a home language.

(3)   A sizable proportion of the population speaks the language fluently.

(4)   There is no major alternative nationalist language, even though other languages may fulfill the group function on the regional level.

(5)   The language must be seen as authentic, as "good enough."

(6)   The language must be seen as a link with the glorious past.

Yet, as Fasold notes, if the language in question fails to meet 1 of the 6 requirements, it will probably fail in the nationalist function.

Meanwhile, according to the definition of National and Official language, the writers conclude the distinction of them as follows:

Tabel.1 The distinction between National Languages and Official Languages

No.	National Languages	Official Languages
1	de facto or de jure	a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction
2	national identity of a nation or country	the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration
3	alternatively designation given to one or more languages spoken as first languages	often connected with wider political issues of sovereignty, cultural nationalism, and the rights of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, including immigrant communities.

Source: Wikepedia

4. Countries have no official language

a.       The United Kingdom does not have a constitutionally defined official language. English is the main language (being spoken monolingually by more than 70% of the UK population) and is thus the de facto official language. Other native languages to the Isles include Welsh, Irish, Ulster Scots, Cornish, Gaelic and British Sign Language. Immigrants have naturally brought many foreign languages from across the globe.

b.      The United States does not have a national official language; nevertheless, English (specifically American English) is the primary language used for legislation, regulations, executive orders, treaties, federal court rulings, and all other official pronouncements; although there are laws requiring documents such as ballots to be printed in multiple languages when there are large numbers of non-English speakers in an area. As part of what has been called the English-only movement, some states have adopted legislation granting official status to English. As of April 2011, out of 50 states, 27 established English as the official language, including Hawaii where English and Hawaiian are both official.

c.       Japanese is the de facto official language of Japan. There is a form of the language considered standard: hyōjungo (標準語^?), meaning "standard Japanese", or kyōtsūgo (共通語^?), "common language". The meanings of the two terms are almost the same. Hyōjungo or kyōtsūgo is a conception that forms the counterpart of dialect. This normative language was born after the Meiji Restoration (明治維新 meiji ishin^?, 1868) from the language spoken in the higher-class areas of Tokyo (see Yamanote) for communicating necessity. Hyōjungo is taught in schools and used on television and in official communications. It is the version of Japanese discussed in this article.

d.      Mexico

Mexico has no de jure constitutional official language at the federal level in Mexico, but Spanish is used for all public functions, and the country has the largest Spanish-speaking population in the world with almost a third of all Spanish native speakers. Mexico is home to a large number of indigenous languages, spoken by some 5.4% of the population - 1.2% of the population are monolingual speakers of an indigenous language. The indigenous languages with most speakers are Nahuatl, spoken by approximately 1,45 million people, Yukatek Maya spoken by some 750,000 people and the Mixtec and Zapotec languages each spoken by more than 400,000 people. The National Institute of Indigenous Languages INALI recognizes 68 linguistic groups and some 364 different specific varieties of indigenous languages. Since the promulgation of the Law of Indigenous Linguistic Rights in 2003, these languages have had status as national languages, with equal validity with Spanish in all the areas and contexts in which they are spoken.

In addition to the indigenous languages other minority languages are spoken by immigrant populations such as the 80,000 German-speaking Mennonites in Mexico. And 5,000 the Chipilo dialect of the Venetian language spoken in Chipilo, Puebla.

e.       Argentina, The de facto official language of Argentina is Spanish, usually called castellano (Castilian) by Argentines. Argentina is the largest Spanish-speaking society that universally employs voseo (the use of the pronoun vos instead of tú (you), which occasions the use of alternate verb forms as well). The most prevalent dialect is Rioplatense, whose speakers are primarily located in the Río de la Plata basin. Italian and other European immigrants influenced Lunfardo, the slang spoken in the Río de la Plata region, permeating the vernacular vocabulary of other regions as well. A phonetic study conducted by the Laboratory for Sensory Investigations of CONICET and the University of Toronto showed that the accent of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires (known as porteños) is closer to the Neapolitan language, spoken in Southern Italy, than any other spoken language.

5. Bahasa Indonesia, as National and Official Language

Based on the expat.or.id (2012) it’s was described that Bahasa Indonesia is the national language of the Republic of Indonesia. It unites the over 237 million people of Indonesia (May 2010), whose native tongue may be one of the over 300 distinct languages or regional dialects.

The Indonesian nationalists at the beginning of the 20th century were fully aware of the need for a single national language to allow communication throughout the future nation — to comprise all the Dutch possessions, known then as Dutch East Indies — if unity was to be achieved and maintained. The Indonesian motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity), acknowledges the multiethnic and multilingual nature of Indonesia and emphasises the importance of unity.

Since independence, Indonesian has had the status of national language in its true sense, being the sole official language and the language of national unity. Its position has been far firmer than that of national languages in other multiethnic Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, where linguistic differences have pre-vented any language achieving such a status and where the chosen national language has, to a greater or lesser extent, been overshadowed by a foreign language, English. How remarkable the acceptance of

Indonesian has been is shown by a comparison with India, where forms for the 2001 census had to be printed in 17 languages. By contrast, in every Indonesian census, forms have been printed only in Indonesian, although the country has many more languages than India.

          In a slightly different form, Malay is also the national language of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and is spoken by communities in a number of other countries. When Malay became the national language, as Indonesian, it did not take over all the roles of the other languages spoken throughout the archipelago, which continued to be used within their own linguistic communities.

          As the official language, it is used in the mass media and is the language of all government business and of education. It is used in most situations where two people with different regional back-grounds wish to communicate with each other, although in some regions local lingua francas also have a role. While the other languages of the nation continue their role as language of the home within their own regions, many are in a precarious position. They are more likely to be confined to use in areas of traditional culture rather than anything associated with modern life. Informal communication within the home and village in activities associated with traditional customs, such as ceremonies, storytelling, and traditional occupations, will usually be in the regional language. But Indonesian is more likely to be used in modern contexts, such as discussion of politics and technology.

          As the modern world continues to intrude into even the remotest villages, through television and education, knowledge of Indonesian grows. Larger regional languages are surviving the increasing spread of Indonesian into aspects of everyday life, but for many minor languages there is increasing threat to survival as speakers turn to Indonesian in more and more areas of their daily lives.

          For most of the 20th century, the greatest challenge to Indonesian was to quickly become the language of unity and a fully developed national language able to cope with all the demands of modern life. During the century, the language underwent enormous changes, including significant syntactic elaboration and a much enlarged lexicon, thus acquiring greatly enhanced powers of expression. During the Suharto era (1966–98), the government viewed standardisation and odernisation of the language as essential to its program of economic development. As a consequence, the nature of the language and the language-planning process came in for criticism from some who saw the language as too closely linked to the authoritarian Suharto government. Today, the language faces new challenges. The unity of the Indonesian state is under threat and this presents threats to the continued development, expansion and stability of the language.        

C. Conclusion

          National language and official language are best understood as two concepts or legal categories with ranges of meaning that may coincide, or may be intentionally separate. Obviously a stateless nation is not in the position to legislate an official language, but their language may be considered a national language. Some languages may be recognized popularly as "national languages," while others may enjoy a high degree of official recognition.

REFERENCES

http://www.expat.or.id/info/bahasa.html Accessed on January 24, 2012.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/national+language Accessed on January 24, 2012.

http://www.criticism.com/linguistics/national-vs-official-langs.php Accessed on January 24, 2012.

http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=5590 Accessed on January 24, 2012.

http://www.wolfestone.co.uk/official_languages.php Accessed on January 24, 2012.

http://www.en.wikepedia.com/ Accessed on January 24, 2012.

Sneedon, J. 2003. The Indonesian Language:  Its History And Role in Modern Society. Australia: UNSW Press.

Appendix:

          This list is provided as a guide to the languages spoken officially in countries around the world (wolfestone.co.uk/)

Afghanistan: Official languages - Dari, Pushtu;

Albania: Official language - Albanian;

Algeria: Official language - Arabic; Other languages - Berber and French;

Algeria: Official language - Arabic; Other languages - Berber and French;

Angola: Official language - Portuguese;

Anguilla: Official language - English;

Antigua and Barbuda: Official language - English;

Argentina: Official language - Spanish;

Armenia: Official language - Armenian;

Aruba: See Netherlands

Australia: Official language - English; Other languages - sundry aboriginal languages;

Austria: Official language - German;

Azores: See Portugal

Bahamas:Official language - English;

Bahrain:Official language - Arabic;

Bangladesh:Official language - Bengali; Other language - English;

Barbados:Barbados: Official language - English;

Belarus:Official languages - Belarussian, Russian;

Belgium:Official languages - Dutch, French (depending on part of country); Other languages - Flemish and in border areas, some German;

Belize:Official language - English;

Benin:Official language - French;

Bermuda:Official language - English;

Bolivia:Official language - Spanish; Other languages - Aymara and Quechua;

Bosnia:Official language - Bosnian;

Botswana:Official language - English; Other languages - Setswana;

Brazil:Official language - Portuguese;

British Virgin Islands:Official language - English;

Brunei, Sultanate of:Official language - English; Other language - Malay;

ulgaria:B Official language - Bulgarian;

Burkina Faso:Official language - French;

Burma – see Myanmar

Burundi , Republic of:Official language - French; Other languages - Kiswahili, Kirundi;

Cameroon:Official languages - French, English; Other languages - Fang, Peul;

Canada:Official languages - English, French;

Cape Verde Islands:Official language - Portuguese; Other languages - French, English;

Cayman Islands:Official language - English;

Central African Rep:Official language - French; Other language - Sango;

Chad:Official language - French; Other language - Arabic;

Chi le :Official language - Spanish;

China (P.R.):Official languages - Mandarin, Cantonese;

Colombia:Official language - Spanish;

Congo:Official language - French;

Costa Rica:Official language - Spanish;

Croatia:Official language - Croatian;

Cuba:Official language - Spanish;

Cyprus:Official language - Greek; Other language - Turkish in Northern Cyprus;

Czech Republic:Official language - Czech;

Denmark :Official language - Danish;

Dominica :Official language - English;

Dominican Republic :Official language - Spanish;

Ecuador :Official language - Spanish;

Egypt :Official language - Arabic; Other language - Noub;

El Salvador :Official language - Spanish;

Eritrea :Official language - Arabic; Other languages - English and other at least 9 regional languages;

Estonia :Official language - Estonian;

Ethiopia :Official language - Amharic; Other language - English;

Faroe Islands :Official languages - Danish, Faroese;

Fiji :Official language - English;

Finland :Official languages - Finnish, Swedish;

France :Official language - French;

Gabon :Official language - French;

Gambia :Official language - English;

Germany :Official language - German;

Ghana :Official language - English;

Gibraltar :Official language - English;

Greece :Official language - Greek;

Greenland :Official language - Danish; Other language - Eskimo;

Grenada :Official language - English;

Guadeloupe :See France

Guam :Official language - English;

Guatemala :Official language - Spanish; Other language - Mayan;

Guyana :Official language - English;

Haiti :Official languages - French, Creole;

Honduras :Official language - Spanish;

Hong Kong :Official languages – English, Mandarin; Other language -, Cantonese;

Hungary :Official language - Hungarian;

Iceland:Official language - Icelandic;

India:Official language - (16 major languages, including English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Tamil, Sindhi and Napali);

Indonesia:Official language - Indonesian;

Iran:Official language - Farsi;

Iraq:Official language - Arabic;

Ireland:Official languages – Irish, English;

Israel:Official language - Hebrew; Other language - Arabic;

Italy:Official language - Italian; Other language - German spoken in South Tirol;

Ivory Coast:Official language - French;

Jamaica :Official language - English;

Japan:Official language - Japanese;

Jordan:Official language - Arabic;

Kazakhstan :Official language – Kazakh, Other language – Russian;

Kenya :Official languages – English, Kiswahili;

Kiribati :Official language - English;

Korea :Official language - Korean;

Kuwait :Official language - Arabic;

Latvia :Official language - Latvian;

Le banon :Official language - Arabic; Other language - French;

Lesotho :Official languages – Sesotho, English;

Liberia :Official language- English;

Libya :Official language - Arabic;

Liechtenstein :Official language - German;

Lithuania :Official language - Lithuanian;

Luxembourg :Official language - French; Other languages - German and Luxemburgish;

Macao:Official language - Portuguese; Other language - Mandarin;

Macedonia :Official language - Macedonian; Other language - Greek;

Madagascar:Official language - Malagasy; Other language - French;

Madeira:Official language - Portuguese;

Malawi:Official language - English;

Malaysia:Official languages – Malay, English;

Mali, Republic of:Official language - French; Other languages - Bambara, Peul;

Malta:Official language - Maltese; Other language - Arabic;

Mauritania, Islamic Republic of:Official languages – Arabic, French;

Mauritius:Official language - English; Other languages - French, Creole;

Mexico:Official language - Spanish; Other languages - some Indian dialects, e.g. Mayan;

Monaco, Principality of:Official language - French;

Montserrat:Official language - English;

Morocco:Official language - Arabic; Other languages - French, Berber;

Mozambique:Official language - Portuguese;

Myanmar :Official language - Burmese;

Namibia :Official language: - English;

Nepal :Official language - Nepali;

Netherlands :Official language - Dutch;

New Ca le donia :See France

New Zealand :Official language - English; Other languages - Maori;

Nicaragua :Official language - Spanish;

Niger :Official language - French; Other language - Hausa;

Nigeria :Official language - English; Other languages - Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo;

Norway :Official language - Norwegian;

Oman :Official language - Arabic;

Pakistan :Official language – Urdu, English; Other languages – Pashto, Baluchi, Sindhi;

Panama :Official language - Spanish;

Papua New Guinea :Official languages – English, Pidgin, Motu;

Paraguay :Official language - Spanish;

Peru :Official language - Spanish;

Philippines :Official language – Filipino, English; Other language - Spanish;

Poland :Official language - Polish;

Portugal :Official language - Portuguese;

Puerto Rico :Official languages – English, Spanish;

Qatar :Official language - Arabic;

Réunion:See France

Romania :Official language - Romanian;

Russian Federation :Official language - Russian;

Samoa :Official language - English;

San Marino , Rep. Of:Official language - Italian; Other language - San Marinese dialect;

Saudi Arabia :Official language - Arabic;

Senegal :Official language - French;

Serbia & Montenegro (former Yugoslavia ):Official language - Serbian;

Seychel le s :Official languages – English, French; Other language - Creole;

Sierra Leone :Official language - English;

Singapore :Official language - English;

Slovakia :Official language - Slovak;

Slovenia:Official language - Slovene;

Solomon Islands:Official languages – English, Pidjin;

Somalia:Official language - Somali;

South Africa:Official languages – Afrikaans, English; Other languages - Xhosa, Zulu;

Spain:Official language - Spanish; Other languages - Catalan, Galician, Basque:

Sri Lanka:Official language – Sinhala, Tamil;

St Kitts-Nevis:Official language - English;

St Lucia:Official language - Patois, English;

St Vincent & the Grenadines:Official language - English;

Sudan:Official language - Arabic;

Surinam:Official language - Dutch

Swaziland:Official language - English;

Sweden:Official language - Swedish;

Switzerland:Official language – German, French, Italian, Romansch (depending on Canton);

Syria:Official language - Arabic;

Tahiti :See France

Taiwan :Official languages – Mandarin, Cantonese;

Tanzania :Official languages – English, Swahili;

Thailand :Official language - Thai;

Togo :Official language - French; Other languages – Ewe, Kabié;

Tonga :Official languages – Tongan, English;

Trinidad & Tobago:Official language - English;

Tunisia :Official language - Arabic;

Turkey :Official language - Turkish;

Turks & Caicos Islands:Official language - English;

Tuvalu :Official languages – Tuvaluan, English;

Uganda :Official language - English; Other language - Swahili;

Ukraine :Official language – Ukrainian; Other language - Russian

United Arab Emirates :Official language - Arabic;

United States of America :Official language - English;

Uruguay :Official language - Spanish;

Vanuatu :Official languages – English, French, Bislama;

Venezuela :Official language - Spanish;

Vietnam :Official language - Vietnamese; Other languages – English, French;

Yemen :Official language - Arabic;

Zaire :Official language - French; Other languages - Swahili, Ciluba, Lingala;

Zambia :Official language - English; Other language - Bemba;

Zimbabwe :Official language - English; Other languages - Shona, Ndebele;

Notes:

1.      De facto (English pronunciation: /diː ˈfæktoʊ/, /deɪ/^[1]) is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure (which means "concerning the law") when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique (such as standards) that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or contrary to a regulation. When discussing a legal situation, de jure designates what the law says, while de facto designates action of what happens in practice. It is analogous and similar to the expressions "for all intents and purposes" or "in fact."

2.      De jure (in Classical Latin de iure) is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact". De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'.

The terms de jure and de facto are used instead of "in law" and "in practice", respectively, when one is describing political or legal situations. In a legal context, de jure is also translated as "concerning law". A practice may exist de facto, where for example the people obey a contract as though there were a law enforcing it, yet there is no such law. A process known as "desuetude" may allow de facto practices to replace obsolete de jure laws. On the other hand, practices may exist de jure and not be obeyed or observed by the people.